Murali left out of world Test team

Spun out: Murali will not feature in the ICC's Test XI of the year

By Simon Briggs

12:01AM BST 09 Sep 2004

Muttiah Muralitharan's burgeoning persecution complex can only have been enhanced by his baffling omission from the International Cricket Council's official Test XI of the year, announced on Tuesday night at a gala dinner in London to celebrate their impending Champions Trophy.

Muralitharan's elastic and unorthodox action has been repeatedly queried by pundits and tested in laboratory conditions. His more outspoken critics have described the shoulder injury that prevented him from taking part in the Champions Trophy as suspiciously convenient, as the ICC will be filming every slow bowler in the competition with high-speed cameras.

But Muralitharan has always been defiant about his suspect elbow, even fitting himself with a special arm-brace this summer to prove that he can bowl his doosra – the variation ball that turns away from the right-hander – without exceeding the prescribed degree of flexion.

An angry Muralitharan cut straight to the chase yesterday. "A few people are not that keen on me because they think I am not bowling properly," he said. "That's the only reason it can be, but it's disappointing for me."

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Shane Warne was the world team's only spinner by a panel chaired by Richie Benaud, even though he missed six months of the qualification period because of his drug ban and took only 36 wickets to Muralitharan's 73.

Defending the selection, Benaud said yesterday: "We considered the players' performances and the strength or otherwise of the competition these individuals faced over the course of the year. Shane Warne came back and made an immediate impact with 36 wickets in five games and deserved his place as the first spinner; leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan was unlucky."

Muralitharan's supporters were quick to point out that all Warne's wickets were taken against Sri Lanka, who were ranked only fifth in the Test table. Muralitharan played against Australia, England and South Africa, probably the three best sides in world cricket.

Benaud's panel consisted of Ian Botham, Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Holding and Barry Richards. Of these, only Holding has been publicly critical of Muralitharan, calling his action "doubtful" in Wisden Cricket Asia magazine, and even then he claimed to have been misquoted.

It seems unlikely that the other three panellists would have held animosity towards Muralitharan. Richards has worked as a consultant coach with Sri Lanka, Gavaskar has described him as "the greatest of spinners" and Botham has said: "All his twists and turns are with his wrist, not his arm. There is nothing wrong with his action."

Muralitharan said: "I am surprised that someone who didn't play for six months did get into the side. I don't need more awards – I already have the world record – but I was disappointed on the night."

The awards brought better news for England. Andrew Flintoff was named one-day player of the year. "If somebody had said three years ago that I'd be up here with Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, I probably wouldn't have believed them," Flintoff said.

Flintoff came second to Rahul Dravid in the overall player of the year category, while Steve Harmison was one of three seamers in Benaud's Test XI.